Winterizing in a place with little to no winter?

[azreddot]

I see a lot of folks de-winterizing and getting ready for the season. I'm curious for those in the southwest, how many actually winterize their rigs? We don't get but one or two nights of freezing temps if that. Is it worth adding antifreeze if the tanks/system are drained? Is there any suggested pre-summer maintenance folks do to combat the sun/heat, besides leave town. [emoji28]


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[jimp]

There is a "winterizing" thread somewhere on here, where everyone moans and groans about the process but primarily because that means they won't be using their units due to winter weather, not the process.

Only you can decide whether to winterize or not. Here in E TN we have snow and cold weather but not like up north, even down into single digits at times, then we may not get that cold either. We may not get above freezing at times either for a couple days, or the overnight lows might be 40*.

RV antifreeze is only $3/gal, and it takes 30-60mins to do it after the first time. Cheap insurance but no guarantees you won't have some busted water pipes or valve.

[WVDusty]

If you only get one or two nights of freezing temps in you area and above freezing throughout the day I would just use the compressed air method.


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[sennister]

Originally Posted by WVDusty

If you only get one or two nights of freezing temps in you area and above freezing throughout the day I would just use the compressed air method.


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Also leave the low point drains open.

Keep in mind that PEX can flex to a point. So it isn't likely to break a line in the middle of a wall. If something breaks normally it is where water settles in an elbow coupler or at a drain valve.

[azreddot]

Originally Posted by WVDusty

If you only get one or two nights of freezing temps in you area and above freezing throughout the day I would just use the compressed air method.


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Thanks for the suggestions. I'm not familiar with the compressed air method. Will have to look into that.


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[northwindone]

We live up in the California High Desert, we have short mild winters here as well. But we do commonly get below freezing at night between December and February and once in a while even get down into the teens.

I commonly winterize and un-winterize several times throughout the winter as we go camping just as often in the winter as we do in the summer. I used the compressed air method on this TT this year and on our old TT the two years before that without any issues. Also makes it no work to un-winterize since there isn't much to do other than re-fill the tanks and get all the air out of the water heater. I still use RV antifreeze, but only for the drains and toilet.

As for summer preparation I make sure my tires are covered, though I usually try to keep them covered year round. Close the blinds to help reduce heat loading and prevent fading of upholstery and cabinetry. And I make sure the vent in the bathroom is open with the bathroom door open to help let the hot air escape. Another item is I always try to make sure my hoses are put away since the sun will quickly turn RV hoses from white to yellow.

I'm planning on adding another vent in the bedroom (framing is already in place from the factory). Also thought about trying to adding a 12V solar exhaust fan to help exhaust hot air 24/7 in the summer. This is obviously all while stored next to our house. If we are camping we just head into the mountains to cool down .

[sennister]

Originally Posted by azreddot

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm not familiar with the compressed air method. Will have to look into that.


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Compressed air is the method I use to blow out the buried lines that I have on my property. I have a water line going from the house to my shop and then going down to where my In-law's park their 5th wheel.

There are a couple ways of doing it. Since I have a big 60 gallon compressor in the shop I use ball valves to have a connection that I adapted to an air line coupler. I dial back the pressure a bit on my regulator to about 50 PSI then hook up the airline to the connection in the shop. I then go to the basement to close the valves that let water into the system and open another valve that allows the water to get pushed out into the laundry sink. Then head down to the hook up for the 5th wheel and open that valve since it is downhill from the house and shop. When doing this let the water blow out, then close the valve to let it settle a bit and open it again to get more out.

For an RV solution I would use something like this hooked up to the city water port.

https://www.amazon.com/Winterize-Hea.../dp/B008VSB0DE

The challenge is you may still have water from the FW tank to the pump and up to where that ties in with internal water pipes. However this is inside the camper so if you don't get sustained cold temps and would most likely be fine. Or just run a bit of antifreeze through the pump to protect that.

https://www.amazon.com/Camco-36153-B...dp/B0006IX68O/

This is another design but I don't like it as well as it takes two people. The HD one is only a couple bucks more and makes it a one person operation. With the cheaper version one person needs to hold the air chuck on the connector running the air as someone else runs around to all the faucets and opens them to get the water out. Also don't forget the outside shower and toilet. Many people focus on sinks and since many of us don't use the outside shower we forget about that one.

[northwindone]

Originally Posted by sennister

...Also don't forget the outside shower and toilet. Many people focus on sinks and since many of us don't use the outside shower we forget about that one.

Good point! I almost forget our outside shower the first time I winterized this TT as our old TT didn't have an outside shower. We actually use ours a lot for washing little hands (and rinsing mud out of a 6-year-old's hair, but that's a different story). Still almost forgot it though.

[pconroy]

Originally Posted by azreddot

We don't get but one or two nights of freezing temps if that.

I don't think it's the number of nights that just dip below freezing that matters but how cold it gets below 32*F and for how long.

Up here, in snow country, when autumn comes and I'm not ready to put it away for the season, it's just drain and then run an electric heater inside. So far, so good.

But if it's going to hit mid 20's for a couple of days, then I winterize.

[REWahoo]

Originally Posted by azreddot

I see a lot of folks de-winterizing and getting ready for the season. I'm curious for those in the southwest, how many actually winterize their rigs? We don't get but one or two nights of freezing temps if that. Is it worth adding antifreeze if the tanks/system are drained?

I'm in the San Antonio area, have never done any "winterizing" and have never had any problem. On the rare occasion it does go down into the 20's and stays there for 24 hours, I stick a trouble light with an old incandescent bulb in the basement near the water heater.

Originally Posted by azreddot

Is there any suggested pre-summer maintenance folks do to combat the sun/heat, besides leave town. [emoji28]

Other than trying to park in the shade, heading for the mountains is the only available option.

[azreddot]

Originally Posted by REWahoo

On the rare occasion it does go down into the 20's





Other than trying to park in the shade, heading for the mountains is the only available option.

I can't remember the last time we were in the 20's but then we've already had the house AC on this year.

We've got tire covers and use the bath vent plus add a bucket of water inside as things tend to dry out when humidity is maybe 5-9%. My neighbor has a big 5er and in the summer he pays to store it 3 hour away but where it's 40 degrees cooler. Not an option for us. Dang guess we'll have to go camping more. [emoji6]



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[JPBeck]

What is this word you speak of WIN-TERrrrrrrrr?